Reborn as a tiger, he was chosen by the nation as its guardian beast.

The moment Gu Xing's familiar face appeared on the television, the somber and oppressive atmosphere in the tiger enclosure, which had been somewhat heavy due to those extraordinary events, was instantly broken.

Even Gu Xing himself felt somewhat uncomfortable watching himself on TV.

"Dean Gu, that's impressive! Now the whole country knows you!"

"Dean Gu's demeanor is calm and composed; he's clearly a pillar of our nation!"

"Dean Gu, you'd better be careful when you go out in the future, someone might ask you for an autograph."

Everyone started showering him with compliments, and the atmosphere instantly became incredibly lively.

Wang Mingyuan also came over with a smile and patted Gu Xing on the shoulder.

"Old Gu, you really made a name for yourself this time! What does this mean? It means that our Huacheng Research Institute is the most valued by the higher-ups among all the research institutes!"

"I reckon the next round of funding and more extraordinary slots will be coming soon!"

"You'll have to take good care of us from now on!"

Hearing everyone's praise, especially seeing Wang Mingyuan's envious yet slightly sour look, Gu Xing immediately became a little smug.

He chuckled, subconsciously touching his shiny bald head, his face full of pride.

"Absolutely!"

He waved his hand dramatically, displaying extraordinary generosity.

"Don't worry, Lao Wang, the Huacheng Stability Maintenance Office and the Research Institute are practically family! If our research institute ever develops anything good, it will definitely be the first thing our brother departments in Huacheng use!"

Upon hearing this, the members of the stability maintenance office present were all overjoyed, and they looked at Gu Xing with even greater enthusiasm, their flattery growing louder.

Meanwhile, the television program continued.

The scene switched back to the news studio, where the host, with a serious expression, began issuing a call for information to viewers nationwide.

Whether it's extraordinary plants, extraordinary animals, or spatial rifts that appear out of nowhere, any clue related to the extraordinary can be reported.

The host solemnly stated that these extraordinary phenomena are extremely dangerous. If ordinary people discover them, they must contact the local stability maintenance office immediately and must not make contact with them without authorization, otherwise their lives may be in danger.

Once the tip is proven to be valid, the informant will receive a substantial reward from the state.

The lowest reward is a super potion or a life potion.

If the clues provided concern national security, they may even receive special training from the state and gain direct access to extraordinary opportunities.

Then, the screen began to scroll through the contact numbers of stability maintenance offices across the country.

The people in the tiger enclosure no longer cared much about these things.

These words were clearly meant for all ordinary people across the country, and had little to do with those of them who were already at the forefront of the effort.

Everyone was already chatting and laughing as they made preparations for a nice lunch to celebrate.

On the other side...

It's not far from Wangjia Village.

Tianniu Mountain, at the border of Huacheng and Kuncheng, is home to Zhenyang Temple.

This is also a special official institution of the country.

Its full name is Hwaseong Special Forces Research Center.

At that moment, a group of people had also gathered in the Taoist temple to watch the entire news event.

However, it was completely different from the joyful and peaceful atmosphere in the tiger park.

The atmosphere here is much more somber.

Zhang Shouzhou, in particular, remained completely silent from beginning to end. After the news broadcast ended, he didn't greet anyone and went straight back to his room.

After closing the door to the room and being left alone, he could no longer control the disappointment on his face. He sighed heavily and looked extremely dejected.

Because of this national news broadcast announcing extraordinary achievements, from beginning to end, apart from the old Taoist priest who discovered the lightning-struck golden bamboo at the very beginning, no other Taoist practitioners were mentioned during the entire press conference, let alone the guiding techniques that these Taoist practitioners had spent nearly a year developing.

As one of the first people to know about the resurgence of spiritual energy, Zhang Shouzhou was well aware that there had always been huge controversies within the country regarding the choice of the path to becoming extraordinary.

One school of thought advocates following ancient methods and finding a guiding technique that can be promoted nationwide. This technique would be used to select geniuses from across the country, cultivate them intensively, and continue the glory of those Qi cultivators who may have existed in ancient legends.

The other school of thought advocates believing in science, rejecting those mysterious and unverifiable theories of Qi cultivation, and using scientific methods to directly unlock the human gene pool and quickly advance to the extraordinary level.

This road is actually the road that the other world once walked.

The fact that China was able to develop three kinds of medicine in such a short time is largely due to its research on the zombies from other worlds.

However, Zhang Shouzhou, along with a large number of others in China who share the same idea, always felt that the reason why the other world turned into that apocalyptic scene was because they had taken this path.

This is a wrong path, and it will inevitably lead to enormous trouble in the future.

The two factions were locked in a heated debate, and the country was slow to determine its final direction.

But perhaps it was the appearance of that permanent spatial rift in Wangjia Village that put the country under unprecedented pressure.

Or perhaps they obtained more crucial information about gene-based drugs during their exploration of another world.

In short, just a few days after that spatial rift was discovered, the country made up its mind to end the debate and chose the path of developing gene therapy.

Zhang Shouzhou was very disappointed by this.

But he had no way to solve it.

The fact is, none of those who insisted on following the path of guidance have, to this day, successfully reached the extraordinary through guidance.

Perhaps it was this harsh reality that led the country to ultimately abandon its proposed agenda.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shouzhou couldn't help but let out another long sigh.

"Ultimately, I still need to advance to the extraordinary level!"

"In any case, only by advancing to the extraordinary level can more people pay attention to the continuous development of guidance techniques."

"Perhaps it's time to make a choice!"

He muttered to himself, hesitated for a moment, and finally stood up and walked slowly to an old wardrobe.

He stretched out his withered hand and slowly pulled open the cabinet door.

Inside the cabinet, a small wooden puppet, barely cobbled together, lay quietly.

The doll was somewhat crudely made, yet it exuded an indescribable eeriness.

The moment the cabinet door opened, the puppet seemed to sense something; its two black button eyes suddenly seemed to come alive, staring straight at him.

If Wang Hu were here right now, he would definitely recognize at a glance that this puppet is the same little puppet that the ghost baby hiding in the cabinet was hiding in, which he had slapped to pieces.